Springboro SWAT standoff ends peacefully

After a four-hour standoff, officers say the two Springboro bank robbery suspects have surrendered.

Our reporter on the scene says the two men came out around 1:30.

SWAT sent a flash bomb in right after the standoff ended to make sure no one was hiding inside, it started a small fire that firefighters were able to quickly put out.

The incident started just before 9:00 Friday morning at the 5/3 Bank on North Main.

Officers say the bank manager was about to open the store when two masked men, who were hiding in the bushes, reportedly approached him to begin the bank robbery. A bank teller, who observed the incident from the parking lot, was able to notify police to the incident.

According to FBI agents, the bank manager escaped when the masked men were distracted by the arrival of the police. The men reportedly shot at the manager as he was escaping, but he was not hit, and made it to authorities at the scene safely.

The men stayed in the bank and caused some damage to the building while SWAT surrounded them. More than a half dozen agencies responded to the call and they worked together to get the robbers to come out.

Meanwhile, nearby schools were forced to have recess inside, and nearby business were evacuated.

"I was kind of in shock. I didn't think anything of it at first," said Anne Kramer, who was evacuated from her business. "I saw the cop, and thought that's weird there is a cop here, then I saw his gun and that was weird. He said you have to go, you have to evacuate."

The suspects eventually came out of the building, and are now in FBI custody. Charges have not been filed. The suspects have been identified as Anton Alexander and Anthony Phillips.

"The hostage negotiation team they're clearly the stars in this one because they got these two armed suspects to come out, no injuries to citizens, police officers or anybody involved," said John DiPietro of the Miami Township Police Department.

No suspect vehicle was on scene, so police say they are investigating how the robbers arrived at the bank.